So, here are some pics from last month of Matt Smith & Karen Gillan as they start filming Series 5.
Reaction has been mixed to say the best about the outfit. Personally, I love it (as if you expected me to say something else).
From what limited snippets I've seen of his acting, he does come across as someone who, at the age of 26, can easily seem like he's 2600. I don't quite know what it is - maybe the facial looks, he looks as if he's chiseled from stone in some pictures. A very statuesque, angled face. That imparts age.
Of course the lack of wrinkles (damn him!) belies his youth. And I think the new costume is sort of a counterbalance to that. I've seen it referred to as the "Professor" look, and lest we forget that was Ace's preferred term for the Seventh Doctor (who RULED and I don't care WHAT you say). The air of authority conveyed by such an outfit plays right against his youth, and personally I think it's both cute and authoritarian. Maybe it's because during my time in grad school, trying to become a Doctor myself, I've seen quite a lot of the tweed-coat-and-bow-tie profs myself. They really do exist in academia, I swear. Not that I think they are cute, because they are all old, but you know what I'm trying to say.
I think he will play the Doctor as an attractive guy, but rather than the cutesy emotion of David Tennant, he will do the brainy, assertive, teacher figure role. And I think it will work. And it will be effing brilliant.
But I'm already sold, and you already knew that.
21 August 2009
Coming Up...
So I haven't written in a while. What's been going on: work, cooking, best friend's mom died. Mainly, not a whole lot of fun.
Thesis has been sort of going, advisor being of slightly more help as of late.
Best friend's mom: one of those people who everyone called Mom, always had food and a shoulder to cry on for anyone who walked in the door. I'm still a bit wrecked over the whole thing, honestly.
Renewed my unemployment, still no job, still poor. Not a hell of a lot has changed on that front.
It's hot as hell, the Mets suck, and I can't wait for football and snow.
So some entries I swear I am going to write in the somewhat near future:
My thoughts on Matt Smith
A celiac news roundup
A few general science roundups
The return of Signs of the Apocalypse
Movie reviews
I have all of this sitting in a text file on my desktop so I don't forget it all. Because once you hit 30, and you've been an undiagnosed celiac, your mind starts going. Sigh.
Anyway if you are still reading this mindless drivel, I love you <3
Thesis has been sort of going, advisor being of slightly more help as of late.
Best friend's mom: one of those people who everyone called Mom, always had food and a shoulder to cry on for anyone who walked in the door. I'm still a bit wrecked over the whole thing, honestly.
Renewed my unemployment, still no job, still poor. Not a hell of a lot has changed on that front.
It's hot as hell, the Mets suck, and I can't wait for football and snow.
So some entries I swear I am going to write in the somewhat near future:
My thoughts on Matt Smith
A celiac news roundup
A few general science roundups
The return of Signs of the Apocalypse
Movie reviews
I have all of this sitting in a text file on my desktop so I don't forget it all. Because once you hit 30, and you've been an undiagnosed celiac, your mind starts going. Sigh.
Anyway if you are still reading this mindless drivel, I love you <3
06 July 2009
Science Roundup 07/06/09 - Bumpkins, Babies, and Babes
So having just noted the visit of actual scientists to the Creationism museum, and having just watched Inherit The Wind, I am amused by the following - some smart person points out why the Bible is wrong: namely, everything was on the ark, even the dinosaurs. So why are they extinct? LOGIC FTW.
Related: WHY EVEN GIVE IT CREDENCE BY REFERENCING IT?!
I am increasingly thinking there is something to the school of thought that as we have poisoned our environment, it is poisoning us. Phthalates may be causing pre-term births, nitrates may cause Alzheimer's, inbreeding is BAD (note to the South), and not sleeping is BAD particularly if you're an XX. I am a scientist, and I know what closed systems are - and things (ecosystems) develop in equilibrium with their surroundings. When that is disrupted... well, all hell breaks loose.
Somewhat related: The simpler, the better (sometimes) when it comes to childbirth. I hope all my breeding brethren find that of interest.
Of course, not all progress is bad. For example, vaccines. As I bitched about recently, there's no evidence they cause autism. and, there's a *reason* they are mandatory. Also, research shows how we might fight Alzheimer's. And, as someone born with a heart defect, this makes me happy.
Related to Alzheimer's: is there ANYTHING coffee can't fix?!.
Ahh, if only we had so little to worry about as the Netherlands.
So your Social Security number isn't as secure as it seems. Well, if you were born after 1988.
Depressed students are more likely to drop out. As a ninth-year graduate student, my research has also told me that the sky is blue.
Oh, and chicks RULE!
Finally, Damn, I'm old.
Related: WHY EVEN GIVE IT CREDENCE BY REFERENCING IT?!
I am increasingly thinking there is something to the school of thought that as we have poisoned our environment, it is poisoning us. Phthalates may be causing pre-term births, nitrates may cause Alzheimer's, inbreeding is BAD (note to the South), and not sleeping is BAD particularly if you're an XX. I am a scientist, and I know what closed systems are - and things (ecosystems) develop in equilibrium with their surroundings. When that is disrupted... well, all hell breaks loose.
Somewhat related: The simpler, the better (sometimes) when it comes to childbirth. I hope all my breeding brethren find that of interest.
Of course, not all progress is bad. For example, vaccines. As I bitched about recently, there's no evidence they cause autism. and, there's a *reason* they are mandatory. Also, research shows how we might fight Alzheimer's. And, as someone born with a heart defect, this makes me happy.
Related to Alzheimer's: is there ANYTHING coffee can't fix?!.
Ahh, if only we had so little to worry about as the Netherlands.
So your Social Security number isn't as secure as it seems. Well, if you were born after 1988.
Depressed students are more likely to drop out. As a ninth-year graduate student, my research has also told me that the sky is blue.
Oh, and chicks RULE!
Finally, Damn, I'm old.
04 July 2009
Movie: Inherit The Wind
OK, so as a scientist it's lame that I *just* got around to watching this flick. I must be the only person who never had to sit through it in high school. Needless to say, the idea of the religious lunatic fringe combatting evolution rings just as true today as it did back in 1925 during the original Scopes Monkey Trial. The version I watched was the 1960 one with Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelly, and apparently was also an allegory to McCarthyism as well (which makes sense on reflection).
The more I watch these classics, the more I realize that they just don't make movies like this anymore. Or anything they try to do today just pales in comparison. You would think that a movie about a court case, which mainly involves two lawyers going at it, would be boring as hell - but Spencer Tracy and Fredric March are absolutely amazing, as Drummond (defense) and Brady (prosecution), respectively. Their interactions and dialogue are a joy to watch - in the movie, they are actually friends, and Drummond was a supporter of Brady in his political ambitions. They find themselves on opposites of the law, and of human progress by extension, but still manage to be friendly through almost all of the proceedings.
The obvious theme of the movie - freedom of thought - was highlighted even more by the downright frightening portrayal of the religious fanatics in the community. The pastor damning his own daughter, that creepy "Old Time Religion" song, even the mobs burning Cates (the biology teacher) in effigy - I feel better knowing I'm on the right side of the issue, but I was still honestly scared by them.
By all means, this is a great flick and I can't recommend this strongly enough if you are in any way involved with science. Even apart from that - if you like good banter, the courtroom scenes are hilarious and the acting is great.
Check it out.
More info: Wikipedia entry
The more I watch these classics, the more I realize that they just don't make movies like this anymore. Or anything they try to do today just pales in comparison. You would think that a movie about a court case, which mainly involves two lawyers going at it, would be boring as hell - but Spencer Tracy and Fredric March are absolutely amazing, as Drummond (defense) and Brady (prosecution), respectively. Their interactions and dialogue are a joy to watch - in the movie, they are actually friends, and Drummond was a supporter of Brady in his political ambitions. They find themselves on opposites of the law, and of human progress by extension, but still manage to be friendly through almost all of the proceedings.
The obvious theme of the movie - freedom of thought - was highlighted even more by the downright frightening portrayal of the religious fanatics in the community. The pastor damning his own daughter, that creepy "Old Time Religion" song, even the mobs burning Cates (the biology teacher) in effigy - I feel better knowing I'm on the right side of the issue, but I was still honestly scared by them.
By all means, this is a great flick and I can't recommend this strongly enough if you are in any way involved with science. Even apart from that - if you like good banter, the courtroom scenes are hilarious and the acting is great.
Check it out.
More info: Wikipedia entry
29 June 2009
Science Roundup 6/29/09 - Autism, Ulysses, Feminism
So now that I have Google Reader somewhat sorted, I can stay on top of more news than EVER! Which means, I can dig up more pointless crap to prattle about in my blog.
More studies that indicate autism is genetic. In other words, not caused by vaccines.
Rest in peace, Ulysses. The Ulysses solar orbitar is shutting down, after providing data about the far reaches of the solar system for almost 20 years. NASA, you done good on that one.
Leave it to UMass Amherst to show women are better at hammering nails than men. I mean, I know we're all pro-feminist up here, but this is getting a mite silly, no?
Japansese robots dance. Ours teach you how to do breast exams. Hmm.
More studies that indicate autism is genetic. In other words, not caused by vaccines.
Rest in peace, Ulysses. The Ulysses solar orbitar is shutting down, after providing data about the far reaches of the solar system for almost 20 years. NASA, you done good on that one.
Leave it to UMass Amherst to show women are better at hammering nails than men. I mean, I know we're all pro-feminist up here, but this is getting a mite silly, no?
Japansese robots dance. Ours teach you how to do breast exams. Hmm.
26 June 2009
online confusion
So yeah I know I should be working. But I am farting around with online information aggregators. Between Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Google Reader, etc. I can't settle on a happy interface. I liked Google's iGoogle page for a while. Now I'm not so sure. Plus having more than 1 Gmail account is a bit crazy as I need to decide which things I follow where.
But yeah. That's how I'm wasting my life today because I can't tackle anything serious at the moment.
But yeah. That's how I'm wasting my life today because I can't tackle anything serious at the moment.
23 June 2009
15 June 2009
Movie: The Matrix Reloaded
No, I hadn't seen it before now. And yeah, it was cool. Excellent soundtrack, too.
More info: Wikipedia entry
More info: Wikipedia entry
01 June 2009
Movie: All The President's Men
Mr. BP put this one on the Netflix list, and it's kind of silly that neither of us had seen it before now. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman star as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, respectively, the reporters at the Washington Post who broke the Watergate story. It is based on a book which I haven't yet read, written by said reporters. As somewhat of a politics and history junkie, this was fascinating to me. And for classics like these, I love to watch the "behind the scenes" footage of how they made the movie. And in this case, it had actual interviews with Woodward and Bernstein, all the actors, and a nice extended "making of" bit that showed how they recreated the WaPo offices down to the last detail - by stealing trash out of the trashbins! There is a nice discussion of what real investigative journalism is - at least, in 1974. Watching WaPo be presented as a vaunted institution, and seeing all the footwork involved in writing the story, it makes for an interesting comparison with today's electronic media. What I felt was that even though the institutions and mediums have changed, true reporting and true journalism will always require research and integrity. Today, it matters less where you work than WHY you work - and it's the same whether you're at the Washington Post or the Huffington Post. I think that in the digital age, it's easier to let your voice be heard - but more work to separate it and put it above the rest.
Anyway, now I'm rambling. Rent this if you haven't already.
More info: Wikipedia entry
Anyway, now I'm rambling. Rent this if you haven't already.
More info: Wikipedia entry
Movie: Happy Endings
Movie: Happy Endings
No, not what you think. But it does have a masseuse in it. The intertwining stories of some really messed up people - like, people you wake up in the morning and say "THANK GOD I AM NOT THEM" about. The way the story is told is pretty neat, you really do feel like you are moving along the story arc jumping from person to person. And, I will say, Maggie Gyllenhaall is AWESOME. I do love her a lot. This didn't make a ton of money, and I'm not quite sure how it wound up on the Netflix list - I must have been really bored one night. But anyway, a fun flick if you want something slightly silly for a quiet night.
More info: Wikipedia entry
No, not what you think. But it does have a masseuse in it. The intertwining stories of some really messed up people - like, people you wake up in the morning and say "THANK GOD I AM NOT THEM" about. The way the story is told is pretty neat, you really do feel like you are moving along the story arc jumping from person to person. And, I will say, Maggie Gyllenhaall is AWESOME. I do love her a lot. This didn't make a ton of money, and I'm not quite sure how it wound up on the Netflix list - I must have been really bored one night. But anyway, a fun flick if you want something slightly silly for a quiet night.
More info: Wikipedia entry
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